We Are Cast
by MissGoalie75
Summary: The month before Sirius leaves Hogwarts, he bumps into Regulus during a midnight walk.


A/N: This was written for a MWPP-fest on LJ almost a year ago - I've forgotten to upload on here until now. Special thanks to lordrandallslady for beta-ing!

Standard disclaimers apply.

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><p><em>"Our siblings. They resemble us just enough to make all their differences confusing, and no matter what we choose to make of this, we are cast in relation to them our whole lives long. " – Susan Scarf Merrell<em>

We Are Cast

Sirius thinks this might be the only night when he can have a moment to himself before all the end of the term festivities begin, and the end of this specific term is especially important for him and everyone else in his year.

He really can't imagine not coming back next September, but there it is. Despite his hatred of History of Magic and his aversion to writing essays, he's going to miss Hogwarts. A lot.

Grimacing, he checks the Invisibility Cloak to make sure it's covering his body properly. Now that the Marauder's Map has been confiscated forever (_thanks a lot, Pete_), they have to rely on pure stealth like the good ol' days.

_Ugh, no._ He doesn't want to be one of those losers who say things like that. There are plenty of things to look forward to now that they're diving headfirst into the real world, right? No early morning classes, no homework…

_Voldemort, Death Eaters, murder, panic, destruction_, he darkly finishes in his mind.

He glowers into nothing as he makes his way through empty corridors, vaguely surprised and pleased that he hasn't seen anyone unwelcome: professors, prefects, certain Heads who are always _snogging _each other…

…Then he sees Regulus sitting beside a suit of armor, reading by candlelight.

He's about to walk past him, he really is. They haven't had a conversation since the day before he ran away from _The Most Noble House of Black_ and that was almost two years ago, consisting of nothing beyond yelling and slamming of doors; they've been avoiding each other ever since.

So he plans to keep his stride, ignore his younger brother and leave him behind forever and try to forget that he _is_ his flesh and blood. But then he's slowing himself down and he's pulling the Cloak off him, somehow not giving a damn that Regulus will now know one of the Marauders' secret weapons.

Regulus whips his head up, his gray eyes widening slightly. Sirius stares down at him, unsure of what the hell to do now. He hates looking Regulus directly in the eye – it's like staring into a mirror sometimes; their eyes are same shade of gray.

Sirius doesn't like acknowledging any similarities the two of them have. It's bad enough that they share the same name, but for Sirius to see the prodigal son of the Black _famille_ makes that familial connection too obvious for comfort.

Regulus' eyes shift to the shimmering cloak draped over Sirius' arm. "So that's how you guys pull off all those pranks."

Sirius nods. "Yeah."

Silence.

It's extremely awkward and uncomfortable.

"What are you reading?" Sirius inquires before wanting to smack himself upside the head. _Seriously? Since when do I give a shit about _that_? I don't even ask _Remus _what he's reading and I actually _care _about him_.

Regulus glances at the book and back at Sirius, lifting an eyebrow at him; Sirius thought he was the only Black capable of that. _Orion tried his best but always failed, the proud bastard._ "Nothing that would interest you," Regulus answers.

Sirius rolls his eyes.

"I don't know why you're trying to be civil right now. Do you want to hex me while I'm off my guard or something? Because I'm not," Regulus continues, a hard edge to his voice.

"Believe it or not, I'm just going on a midnight walk to think," Sirius retorts haughtily.

"Think of what? Nothing substantial, certainly."

Sirius narrows his eyes. "I can change my mind about hexing you, y'know."

Regulus lets out a sigh of defeat; Sirius _is_ rather infamous for his dueling. "Fine."

Silence again.

Sirius doesn't like this pattern.

"What're _you_ doing out of your dorm?" Sirius asks, breaking the silence again.

Regulus shrugs. "Wanted to get out for a bit."

"I thought Slytherins loved to be miserable in their gloomy cave together."

"Yes, but every once in a while we have to leave if only to support the notion that our _gloomy cave_ is the best place for misery," Regulus quips with a roll of his eyes.

"I'm surprised you haven't been caught."

"Ears of a dog."

Sirius' nose twitches in disgust. He did _not_ just say that.

And almost like he read his mind, Regulus smirks for a fraction of a second.

Then the smirk falls and there's a look of concentration; he's wondering whether to say something or not. Sirius really hates that he can read his little brother like a book sometimes, but it's even worse when he can't.

"What?" Sirius prompts him.

"Lupin is a werewolf, right?" Regulus asks arbitrarily, but he's not really asking; he's stating it.

Sirius freezes, his mind whirling. _I suppose I can _Obliviate_ him, but I haven't performed a memory charm before and who knows if it would really _work_ and oh _Merlin_ how can I convince my stupid brother to keep this _quiet_? At least for the next month?_

"I don't give a rat's arse," Regulus continues, seeing Sirius' eyes (and is it just a coincidence that two Animagi forms were mentioned?) – "The guy never bothered me personally. I just wanted to confirm my theory."

"Why?" Sirius blurts.

"Why what?"

"You must've known for years, you're not completely brain damaged…you could've gotten him kicked out of school if you wanted."

Regulus clenches his jaw before shrugging in such a flippant way that impresses Sirius. "There are more unbearable people at Hogwarts. Like that Ravenclaw McGuire."

Sirius scowls. "McGuire," he spits. "Hate that guy."

"So irritating."

"And he _spits_ _everywhere_ when he rants!"

"I'm fully aware – I got hit in the face walking by one of his infamous rants about how the Ministry should instill another standardized test when we're thirteen so we have a _good idea_ of how much we'll have to study for the O.W.L.s."

Sirius winces in sympathy without any real thought on who the sympathy was for. "I hope he chokes on his own spit when he leaves."

Regulus grins. "The obituary will read, 'Choking on Words: unfortunate death through spit asphyxiation.'"

Sirius barks a laugh. "'His body simply had enough of him and rebelled. Can't really say this hasn't been a long time coming.'"

The silence this time is almost comfortable, faint smiles still on their faces.

Sirius can't remember the last time they've managed to hold a conversation that didn't involve rants about purity of blood and all that nonsense. It's kind of sad, really. Maybe if things had been different and they had better parents and different lives, they could've had some sort of bond that was an example of that phrase "blood is thicker than water."

But maybe that's exactly what this is – despite the hatred and differences between them, there's still _something_ that connects them, that always will, no matter what happens, as cheesy as that sounds.

Regulus lifts his arm to rub the back of his neck and Sirius can spot it, just a little, that black ink which binds you for life.

For the first time in years, he wants to take Regulus away from everything and protect him like a real older brother should. But there are too many fights and too many years between them; it's rather heartbreaking.

He wants to pretend that they're not existing in the middle of this terrible war and that they haven't already chosen to be on opposing sides, that they're not going to fight each other, life and death, as soon as they leave behind Hogwarts. _I can do that, right? Just for tonight?_

This is too sudden and painful for him. He tries not to vomit as he looks away, forcing himself to calm down.

"I have a question," Sirius asks, wanting the atmosphere to lighten (his name is just _so_ ironic).

"What?"

"Did you really snog Tate Driscoll? Last year?"

Regulus glances up and down the corridor before nodding once. "It went on for a bit. But…it's obvious which Black she _really _wanted," he says, giving Sirius a pointed look.

Sirius glances at his feet in a rare moment of insecurity. "I know," he admits quietly. "But…I shouldn't. Nothing good can come out of it – her sister is practically married to Remus and I'll be leaving…"

Regulus raises an eyebrow again. "Wow. You're actually thinking about someone other than yourself? Remarkable."

"It's been known to happen on occasion."

"Yes, _loyal as a dog_ to the _Marauders_," Regulus continues with unconcealed bitterness.

Sirius clenches his jaw, feeling the tides change again and they're back to being enemies. They can't ignore it for long, can they?

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Sirius asks in a half-growl, but as soon as the words leave his mouth, he wants to take them back. He doesn't _want_ to know because then he'll question himself.

Regulus sighs. The anger and defense immediately draining out of Sirius as he stares at his younger brother, suddenly looking too old to be sixteen going on seventeen. "Nothing. Forget it," Regulus responds tiredly.

Sirius drops it because they can fight tomorrow. _Just not tonight, _please_._

"So…you and Remus…" Regulus starts, a ghost of a smirk on his face.

Sirius glares for a second before rolling his eyes and letting out an exasperated sigh. "Don't swing that way."

Regulus chuckles a bit. "Too straight?"

"You know it."

"People are _convinced_ you two are having a closeted affair."

Sirius can't help but laugh. "No way. But, you know, if Remus were a bird…he'd totally be my soul mate," he admits.

Regulus raises both his eyebrows. "Yeah?"

"Without a doubt," Sirius answers without shame.

Regulus nods in acceptance.

This is the last silence shared by the Black brothers. Sirius thinks that this moment should feel more poignant or saddening, but he doesn't feel much of anything except loss. But he lost his brother _years _ago, so why does it feel like he's losing him _right now_?

"Well…I should get back…" Sirius starts, fiddling with the Cloak.

"Right. Me as well."

Regulus stands up and Sirius wonders when the hell his brother grew. He's still not as tall as Sirius, but he's no longer a pipsqueak, as Sirius would tease him when they were younger.

They stare at each other for a moment and Sirius can tell Regulus still has so many questions: he knows Regulus was dying to talk about _The Prank _a while ago if any of those lingering looks afterward meant anything. Sirius also has some of his own (_how the hell _can he let himself be_ marked _like that?), but the reprieve is over and done with, never to be talked about, ever.

Sirius wants to wish him good luck, but he doesn't know what it should be for, so he just gives his younger brother a curt nod before putting on the Invisibility Cloak. Before he leaves the corridor, he stops and says, "I hope you know what you're doing," with his eyes screwed shut, wanting any sort of emotion towards Regulus to just _go away_.

Regulus doesn't say anything and Sirius all but runs so he can put back the usual distance between them. He's _not_ going to give this another thought; he knew that things were going to turn out like this, that his parents' _drivel logic_ would get to Regulus, turning him into someone that's not _quite_ in his nature.

Sirius _knows_ Regulus doesn't have to be like this. There are so many _if onlys_ that apply here and it drives Sirius insane, especially since all the _if onlys_ don't just pertain to his parents or Regulus – he doesn't want to think about what _he_ could've done to make this better.

Nothing he can do about it now – the past is in the past. Out of sight, out of mind.

Except not really (he doesn't think it ever will be).

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><p>AN: Do remember to leave a review!

MissGoalie


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